Xiaomi Says Sony Supplier Wistron Will Make Its Smart TVs

By Bloomberg News -
Sep 9, 2013

Xiaomi Corp., the smartphone maker
that outsells Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhones in China, said its new
Internet-ready televisions will be built by Wistron Corp. to
take advantage of its skill as a supplier to Sony Corp. (6758)

“Wistron builds Sony TVs so they have ample experience
building high-end TVs,” Xiaomi President Bin Lin said in a
Sept. 6 interview at the company’s headquarters in Beijing.

Lin declined to provide financial details or production
volume for the devices. Florence Hsiao, spokeswoman for Hsinchu,
Taiwan-based Wistron, didn’t respond to an e-mailed request for
comment. A telephone call to her number listed on the company’s
website wasn’t answered. Wistron rose as much as 1.7 percent.

After building market share by selling mobile phones priced
at about a third of the iPhone 5 in China, Xiaomi is entering
another market where Apple has said it’s seeking to develop
products. Xiaomi next month will start selling TVs that connect
to the Web and run Google Inc.’s Android operating system. The
47-inch (119-centimeter) TV will cost 2,999 yuan ($490), the
company said.

The TVs will be assembled with panels supplied by LG
Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), Xiaomi Chief
Executive Officer Lei Jun said Sept. 5. He didn’t disclose the
manufacturer at that time.

Lenovo, Alibaba

The Xiaomi order is welcome news for Wistron, which is
struggling with a reduction in orders from Sony, its largest
customer, Vincent Chen, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Co. in
Taipei, said in a phone interview today. Wistron this year will
ship about 3.2 million TVs, or less than 20 percent of its
capacity of about 18 million units, Chen said.

Sony, the world’s No. 3 TV maker, posted nine straight
annual losses in its TV business. The Tokyo-based company last
month cut its target for sales this year to 15 million sets from
16 million.

“Wistron (3231)’s capacity is extremely empty, so they need a lot
of orders to fill it up,” Chen said. “Xiaomi probably will
help a little bit.”

Wistron closed 0.8 percent higher at NT$30.55 in Taipei
today. The stock has risen 6.6 percent this year, compared with
a 6.4 percent rise in the benchmark Taiex index.

Sales Double

Xiaomi, a three-year-old company that was valued at $10
billion in its latest round of funding, has turned profitable
for the first time and is on pace to almost triple handset sales
this year, Lin said.

Revenue in the first half more than doubled to 13.2 billion
yuan and may rise to 28 billion yuan for the full year from 12.6
billion yuan last year, Lin said. Handset sales may jump to 20
million units from 7.19 million last year, he said.

Its newest handset, Xiaomi Phone 3, runs on all three major
carriers in China. It uses both Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)’s Snapdragon and
Nvidia Corp.’s Tegra 4 processors and will be the world’s
fastest smartphone, Lei said.